forlorn
/fə'lɔ:n/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Adjective:
- Marked by or showing hopelessness: Describes a state or appearance characterized by a profound sense of despair, abandonment, or defeat.
- Pitifully sad and abandoned or lonely: Conveys a sense of being left alone, isolated, and appearing wretched or miserable.
- Unlikely to succeed or be fulfilled: Describes an attempt, hope, or cause that appears hopeless or doomed to failure.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- She had a forlorn look in her eyes after hearing the bad news.
- The forlorn puppy waited by the empty food bowl.
- Making a comeback now seems a forlorn hope.
- They made one last forlorn attempt to save the old building from demolition.
Advanced Usage
- "forlorn hope": A hope or undertaking that is extremely unlikely to succeed.
- Winning the championship with this injured team is a forlorn hope.
- Literary/poetic usage: To describe a place as deserted, bleak, or lonely.
- He wandered through the forlorn streets of the abandoned town.
Variants and Related Words
- Forlornly (adverb): In a forlorn manner; pitifully.
- He sighed forlornly, knowing he was defeated.
- Forlornness (noun): The state or quality of being forlorn.
- The forlornness of the landscape was overwhelming.
Synonyms
- Desolate: Feeling or showing great unhappiness or loneliness.
- Woebegone: Sad or miserable in appearance.
- Despairing: Showing the loss of all hope.
- Abandoned: Left empty or unused; deserted.
- Hopeless: Having no expectation of good or success.
Antonyms
- Hopeful: Feeling or inspiring optimism.
- Cheerful: Noticeably happy and optimistic.
- Joyful: Feeling, expressing, or causing great pleasure and happiness.
Related Idioms and Phrases
- A forlorn hope: As detailed in 'Advanced Usage', this idiom specifically refers to a desperate or nearly hopeless enterprise.
- The mission was considered a forlorn hope, but they volunteered anyway.
Adjective
- marked by or showing hopelessness
- the last forlorn attempt
- a forlorn cause